Chapter Eight: Conspiracy Theories
"Whistlepaw!" Winterpaw screamed and onto the thunderpath as the monster swerved away again and zoomed away out of sight. He didn't even hear Foxmask's warning cry; the sound of his brother's wail was still echoing in his ears. All too soon he reached the spot where his brother lay, mangled and broken almost beyond recognition. His small ginger frame was shattered and flattened and his sightless blue eyes bulged in their sockets. Blood pooled around him, still warm, lapping at Winterpaw's paws. Any hope left in Winterpaw's heart vanished. Whistlepaw, his brother, the only cat who had stood by him from the beginning, the cat who had killed a den mate for him, was dead.
The thought was too much for Winterpaw to bear. He crouched, shivering, beside his brother's lifeless body and wailed like a kit. Nothing mattered anymore now that both Sunstreak and Whistlepaw were dead. The only two cats who had ever shown Winterpaw any kindness were gone. What was the point in continuing his training if no one would be there to praise him? If no one would shout his warrior name? If no one would ever accept him as a warrior at all?
Something warm brushed against his ear, but Winterpaw didn't look up. He half expected it to be Flickertail, here to finish the job. But then Foxmask's voice whispered in his ear, "We have to take him back to the Clan."
"What's the point?" Winterpaw sobbed. "He's gone. Whistlepaw's gone. Sunstreak's gone. The only cats who ever gave a rat's tail about me are gone!" He wailed again, hoping if he screeched long enough he'd cough up his heart and die as well.
Instead of comforting him, Foxmask cuffed him around the head, hard. Winterpaw fell back on his rump, staring into the she-cat's angry eyes in bewilderment. "What about me? I've always cared about you, Winterpaw!" She snarled. "I've always tried to help you! I've always wanted you to grow up and be the best warrior you could be! Doesn't that mean anything to you?!"
Winterpaw's mouth opened and closed as he floundered for words. In his overwhelming grief, he had completely forgotten about how much Foxmask meant to him. It was true; she wasn't even kin, and yet she had always gone out of her way to help him and tell him warrior tales and practice battle moves with him. Winterpaw would never be able to express in words how much this all meant to him, and she didn't seem to want to wait for him to try. Instead, Foxmask whipped around angrily and raced away, leaving Winterpaw alone with his dead brother.
"Now you've lost everyone, haven't you?" A voice hissed from behind him. Winterpaw hissed and jumped around to face Flickertail, who was emerging again from the reeds on RiverClan territory. "I knew you were mouse-brained, but I never thought you stupid enough to actually chase away the last cat you love."
The word 'love' made Winterpaw flinch, but his mew was strong when he replied, "And I'm surprised you had the guts to finish off Sunstreak yourself, instead of having someone else do your dirty work as usual!"
Flickertail hissed in fury and jumped at Winterpaw, but the apprentice slipped between his paws at the last second and Flickertail crashed on the hard thunderpath behind him. But he recovered quicker than Winterpaw had expected, and suddenly Winterpaw found himself pinned down to the thunderpath with Flickertail's full weight upon him. Claws as sharp as thorns ripped into his shoulders and Winterpaw screamed in agony.
"What ever mad you think you had a chance against me?" Flickertail hissed in Winterpaw's ear, his breath foul against his face. "You're scrawny, you're weak, you're stupid, and you're unloved. You're nothing. Not even StarClan loves you."
"You're wrong!" Winterpaw wailed, trying to convince himself as much as Flickertail. It was true, though. Flickertail was a seasoned warrior with years of battle training. What did Winterpaw have? He had a dead brother, parents that hated him, and a Clan that didn't want him. What's the point? I'm tired of this… Winterpaw thought bitterly. Why should I have to put up with this anymore? He let himself go limp under the warrior's claws and waited to be finished off.
Before the final blow came, something rustled in the bushes on the RiverClan boarder. Flickertail looked around and Winterpaw felt the weight on top of him lessen. Suddenly, the ancient desire to survive that lives in every animal kicked in. Winterpaw shot out from under his enemy's paws and barreled into the bushes on his own territory. His paws didn't let him stop running until he had crashed into another cat. It was Redpaw, of all cats.
"Winterpaw! Thank StarClan I found you!" the medicine cat apprentice sighed with relief. "I slipped away from the Clan when Copperstar was talking to them. Have you found Flickertail?" His eyes grew dark and he spat out the name like a curse. Winterpaw nodded; he was too confused and shocked to say anything. "Well, let's go get him!"
The two apprentices crept carefully through the undergrowth until they reached the thunderpath again, where Winterpaw pointed with his nose to where Flickertail was talking to a group of RiverClan cats. Redpaw twitched his ears and hissed, "What is that all about?"
"…streak is dead, and the only witness left might as well be. We can go in for Copperstar now." Flickertail was meowing. "Remember that some of my warriors will be helping us too, so—"
One of the RiverClan warriors, a savage-looking she-cat called Ripfang growled, "Are you sure this will work? If it becomes a losing battle, we won't stick around and take the blame." The other RiverClanners nodded agreement. There were five of them, four warriors including Ripfang, and one very nervous looking apprentice. Winterpaw recognized him as Fishpaw, Shimmerstar's own apprentice.
Flickertail lashed his tail, angered that these allies didn't trust his power. "All will go according the plan. With the whole Clan out looking for Sunstreak's killer, Copperstar will be almost alone in the camp. She hasn't yet named a deputy, so taking over the Clan will be easy…We could be done already, if you all hadn't been so late. Did Shimmerstar hold you up?"
A huge gray tom laughed sarcastically. "I've got Shimmerstar wrapped around my finger. Anyone can see she's got a head full of feathers. It's her sister we had to convince. That's why I brought Fishpaw, so we looked like a boarder patrol." He nudged the apprentice roughly and he nodded nervously.
Redpaw gasped. "That's Ashtree, the deputy of RiverClan! He and Flickertail must have teamed up to help drive out both their leaders!" Winterpaw barely heard him; he was noticing Ripfang sniffing around Whistlepaw's corpse. He jumped when Redpaw nudged him to get his attention. "Come on! We've got to go warn Copperstar!"
"But Whistlepaw—"
"We can come back for him later! Come on!" The big red tom barreled off back towards the camp. Winterpaw shot one last anguished look back at his brother's body and then took off after his kin.
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The camp was practically deserted when the two apprentices ran into the main clearing. The only cat out and about was Dreamstep, pacing back and forth across the clearing, and the only sound was kits mewling in the nursery. Every warrior was out looking for Flickertail, or joining Flickertail, as the case may be.
Redpaw didn't stop to talk to his mentor, he made a beeline straight for Copperstar's den, Winterpaw following close on his heels. Copperstar was in her den, clawing angrily at her bedding. She looked up expectantly when the two apprentices entered, but her face fell a little when she saw who it was. "What is it? Winterpaw, did you find him?"
"We found him alright." Redpaw growled. "He's over by the thunderpath, meeting with—" Before Redpaw could finish, a screech came from the clearing. The three cats in Copperstar's den raced to the main camp, where Flickertail had begun his attack on ShadowClan.
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Kinda short, this one.
Only three pages in Word. I'm really playing this story by ear at
this point. I really don't even know how it will end.
Anyway,
enjoy chapter eight. Chapter nine should be up in a few days…I
promise.
